


Winter Lights

by StimmyMage



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Fluff, winter happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27984021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StimmyMage/pseuds/StimmyMage
Summary: Elsa thinks about all her Christmases in Arendelle and learns a new Northuldra winter tradition.
Relationships: Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Winter Lights

**Author's Note:**

> For the Winter Wonderland edition of the Frozen Fanzine

The lights of Arendelle glittered in the distance against the clear black night. Elsa had always loved the lights of winter that people put up around Christmas. She had vague memories of running down the streets as a child holding Anna’s hand, just to see the lights  hung  above the shops and hear people hum or sing as they went about their business, all in an unusually cheery mood. All those years, alone in her room, she’d watched out her window, the twinkling lights just over the castle wall seeming as distant as they did from the edge of the woods now. But even from the other side of the wall and behind her small window, watching the bright and colorful lanterns had been the best part of her year.

The last three Christmases had been busy and bright and exciting. Wanting to make up for lost time, Elsa and Anna had gone all out on holiday balls and decorations. Lanterns and tiny fairy lights spilled from the shops and streets into the castle. Anna had done this, threading them up the stairs and down the halls and spiraling across the ballroom ceiling. Elsa’s favorite time had been the night before the party when everyone was adding last-minute touches. She would wander the quiet halls and spin by herself on the dance floor, the lights casting many-colored patches and odd shadow shapes.

She had never admitted to anyone else that she hadn’t liked the parties themselves quite so much. Sure, she did enjoy dancing. And the special chocolate treats were nice. Anna was always so full of happiness at the special occasion that she couldn’t contain her laughter and chatter.

But Elsa wasn’t used to so many people crowding around her . It made her feel nervous and trapped. And she usually spent as much of the party trying to properly greet everyone as she did eating or dancing. By the end of the night, she just wanted to fall into bed and avoid people for a week. Which, of course, she never did. She had learned the hard way that hiding in her room made Anna panic.

This year was different. She and all the Northuldra had been invited to the Christmas party, and some wanted to go, but Elsa had asked if she could just drop in the next night for games in the parlor. She was alright when it was just Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf. Anna had been disappointed, but Elsa wasn’t sure how to explain.

The party was tonight. She had caught a ride in the sled with the  five  people headed to Arendelle, then gotten off at the edge of the wood. She wasn’t really sure what she intended to do once she was alone, she just knew she wanted to be close enough to see the lights. The spirit stones rose around her like comforting guardians, but she let herself wander away a bit to sit on a rock off to one side. The lights winked at her from far away. She felt for a moment a sense of longing, but not for Anna’s parties and dancing and chocolate. She missed being a child who could run with her sister through the streets where lights only meant fun and freedom was a given.

Elsa didn’t get properly or uncomfortably cold the way other people did, but she was stiff from sitting still and her feet had wiggled themselves under the blanket of snow by the time she heard footsteps crunch behind her. She turned with a start, and there was Honeymaren. She  _ did _ get cold, and was wrapped in a lovely fur-lined cloak, with brightly patterned mittens warming her hands.

“What are you doing?” Elsa was still surprised every time someone came after her.

“Looking for you,” Honeymaren shivered slightly, “You said you weren’t going into town, so I thought you’d want to join our celebration.”

“You didn’t tell me there was a Northuldra Christmas party,” Elsa smiled at Honey’s flushed cheeks and bright eyes, the way she always did, and tried not to show her anxiety. Their party would be in the woods without the crowds and halls full of light, of course. It wasn’t the same. Not every new thing was scary.

“Yeah, not exactly. Come here and I’ll show you!” Honey boldly grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the woods.

Elsa had expected to catch the sled on the way back, or maybe wander slowly home through the woods when she got bored of sitting. But Honey loved to run and knew everything about these woods, and Elsa had to leap after her just to keep her in sight.

Back home at their village, Elsa was surprised at the light. Every fire was lit outside between the  small round houses. Elsa knew by now, having learned a lot in the last three months, that this was an unusually wasteful use of firewood reserved only for the most special occasions. Everyone who hadn’t driven to town on the sled, from the tiniest children who looked like balls of fur in their winter clothes, to the elders who sat outside their doors on heavy blankets, had come out for whatever celebration was happening.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Elsa stopped by the first house , panting slightly . Running up a mountain in a blizzard hadn’t made her this out of breath.

Honeymaren stopped too, a few feet ahead of her, and laughed. “S o, Christmas is an Arendelle tradition . I  only know a little about it, but we have something similar and older.” She took Elsa’s hand again and led her more slowly towards the commons in the center of the village, her voice taking on the slow and measured cadence of a Northuldra storyteller. “As long as the Northuldra have been a people, we have had seasonal celebrations. In the spring we  have a farewell celebration for our reindeer herders who follow the migration. In the fall, we welcome them back with a feast and a night of dancing.  In the middle of summer, we celebrate life and  warmth. And now, in the middle of winter, we remember that we’re still here and alive and  together. And what better way than with lights and music? ”

Northuldra music rarely used instruments other than their own voices. They had apparently arrived just on tim e, because people were starting to hum.  In the center of the village ,  in  the wide-open commons, was the biggest fire of all. It blotted out the stars behind it and flickered taller than any man. Most of the  people were crowded around it, sitting on blankets on the ground or on rocks.  Children darted between them, excited by the music and fire and late hour.

Honeymaren pulled Elsa down onto one of the blankets on the edge of the circle, near where trees and houses blended. Both of them, it turned out, preferred to be in the background. One would never guess with Honeymaren’s enthusiasm and constant motion, but  she didn’t like to be in front. She would work hard, but never lead a project. She would go on endlessly about traditions she loved and her favorite bits of the forest, but never for more than a handful of people at once. She was not one for group motivational speeches.

This must be part of why they got along so well, Elsa thought. They could get excited together in their house—Honey’s house, technically, but she’d been quick to invite Elsa to share it—and spend hours  talking so fast their sentences flowed into each other. But both of them were quiet outside, especially in large groups of people, preferring to take in the events rather than shift them. It hadn’t been immediately obvious to Elsa that Honeymaren was like this, but  she had later admitted that it was unusual for her to be so outspoken as she was the day they met.  Both women had felt unusually comfortable with each other immediately.

Elsa could almost understand how Anna had wanted to marry someone she just met. Almost.

One of the friendliest children, a boy named Ristin, immediately plunked himself into Elsa’s lap. People were singing more clearly now, swaying in the firelight. The words were easy to follow , about light in the dark of winter, warmth of a family in the cold of night,  and  pride in surviving another year.

Elsa was surprised to hear herself joining before long. She was half hidden in the shadow of a house, but  her voice joined the swell of all the others telling the world that they were here and  proud to have each other and be part of something. Elsa had never felt like part of something before this year. She was part of a family with Anna, but in many ways they were still more friends than sisters after so many years on opposite sides of a door.

Elsa had spent maybe two weeks feeling bad about abandoning Arendelle. It turned out that Anna was amazing at being Queen: she thrived on talking to people and had a knack for solving their problems. She never even seemed to worry about it. Elsa had no idea where she’d gotten all those social skills after so many years talking to no one but paintings and dolls. Even Kristoff seemed to struggle less with his new position than Elsa had.  He was awkward and would probably never enjoy the formal clothes he had to put on sometimes, but the way he glowed as he stood beside Anna betrayed how little fear he felt when they were together.

Elsa had always been alone, and knew no other way to live.

Until now. She had gotten lost in her thoughts and her voice had fallen to an absentminded hum. Honey was elbowing her. “Don’t zone out now, this is the best part!”

How Elsa adored that smile.

The best part turned out to be  dancing, everyone holding small candles. Together they looked like a swirling reflection of stars  on a lake at night. As people started to get tired and drift off to  bed, Honey pulled her into a shadow for a quick kiss. Her lips were cold against Elsa’s from the night air.

And she knew that she was home, and safe, and that she would never have to leave. For the first time in forever, Elsa was unafraid.


End file.
